ᐅ Cross-flow countercurrent heat exchanger with condensate drainage

Hello everyone,

We have bought a terraced house built to KfW 70 standard that is currently under construction. Now we have to choose between a cross-counterflow heat exchanger with condensate drainage or an enthalpy heat exchanger (from Wolf).

The enthalpy heat exchanger costs an additional 1600 euros, because instead of the Wolf CWL-300, the CWL-400 Excellent would be installed.
We have heard that the enthalpy heat exchanger is better for moisture reasons, but there is also a risk of bacterial growth.

What should we do? The installer says: "no problem at all."
Thanks for your expert advice!
Regards
martins1

So... my heating engineer said that in the past there were frequent problems with very dry air in ventilation systems, especially in winter. This often led to the installation of indoor fountains and humidifiers, alternatively many conversions of the heat exchanger. Nowadays, he installs ventilation systems almost exclusively with enthalpy exchangers and has had no issues since then.
Regards
I.

Ah, very interesting... so I wonder what this part is for:

I asked my neighbor: It’s a typo in the offer. Instead of the "400" Excellent, the "300" Excellent will be installed.

However, this does not answer my question about whether the enthalpy heat exchanger contributes to bacterial growth and if we will soon need to install a humidifier with the cross-counterflow heat exchanger.

What do you think?

Yes, and yes... there is simply no such thing as a perfect all-in-one solution.

Hello Mycraft,
does this mean you have experience with enthalpy heat exchangers and bacterial growth?
Regards,
Martin